Boxer Cindy Ngamba secures the first medal for the Olympic refugee team with a win in the quarter-finals

Boxer Cindy Ngamba took the first medal of any kind for the Olympic refugee team at the North Paris Arena on Sunday, guaranteeing herself at least bronze with a win against France’s Davina Michel in the quarter-finals of the women’s 75 kilograms.

There are no bronze medal fights in boxing at the Olympics, so Ngamba will win or lose a medal in the semi-finals. She fights Panama’s Atheyna Bibeichi Bylon on Thursday when boxing moves to Roland Garros.

“It means a lot to me to be the first member of the refugee team to win a medal,” Ngamba said. “I am only human, just like any other refugee. There are refugees all over the world.”

Ngamba, 25, was born in Cameroon and moved to Britain at the age of 11. Ngamba, who is gay, cannot return home because homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon. She now lives in Bolton, a city in Greater Manchester, England, and trains boxing in Great Britain.

With her victory over Davina Michel (FRA), boxer @CindyNgamba (EOR) has just made history by guaranteeing a first-ever Olympic medal for the IOC @RefugeesOlympic Team! #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/lmN0fhdqA5

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 4, 2024

Ngamba served as flag bearer for the refugee team, which was founded in 2015 and made its debut at the 2016 Rio Games, during the opening ceremony alongside taekwondo athlete Yahya Al Ghotany.

Ngamba is part of the 37-member refugee team in Paris after being introduced to the International Olympic Committee’s refugee program during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has been repeatedly denied British citizenship, despite claiming three national titles in separate weight classes and receiving support from GB Boxing, the sport’s governing body, in her applications to the Home Office.

“I want to say to all refugees around the world and refugees who are not athletes and especially people around the world that you have to keep working hard and keep believing in yourself,” Ngamba said. “You can achieve whatever you set your mind to.”

China’s Qian Li and Australia’s Caitlin Parker will compete in the other semi-final.

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(Photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)